The Pain of Surviving
by Dracoisalooker76
Summary: AU. Rudy survives the bombings of Himmel Street, but in exchange loses his best friend and first love.


**Okay, because there is an insane and obsurd lack of **_**The Book Thief**_** fanfictions, I have decided to lend my hand to the cause. I encourage anyone to write one if you have read this book.**

**It's an AU fic about Rudy and what would have happened if he survived the bombings instead of Liesel.**

**Also, remember to review. And if you get a chance, there are two other stories on the boards about Rudy and Liesel, you can check them out. **_**Twisting Turn **_**by**_** BookCraazii**_

**and **_**of Lemon Hair and Thievry **_**by **_**Patience Winchester Halliwell.**_

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

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**The Pain of Surviving**

When the sun hit his eyes, he squinted. He could hear the rough shouts of the men pulling him out of the rubble, shouting excitedly of their find.

We got one, they yelled. A survivor!

But, truthfully, Rudy Steiner didn't feel like a survivor. He knew, he knew his life was changed forever in one moment. He looked up into the face of his rescuer and looked into warm, chocolate eyes. His face contorted into a look of sheer pain as he turned away from the eyes. They reminded him of something. He moaned, looking at the remains of 33 Himmel Street.

"Liesel?" he whispered. The man looked down at him questioningly.

"What, boy?" he asked, patting the boy's lemon hair gently.

It was then that Rudy tried to pull away. He forgot the pain he was feeling. He ignored the pleas of the grown men telling him to stop. His soft, blue eyes were focused on the house that was next door to his. "Liesel!" he yelled, finally pulling away completely from the stranger holding him down.

Sprinting as fast as he could in his current condition, all he could think about was Liesel. His beautiful best friend had probably slept through the bombing just like his brother, mother, and sisters. His breathing increased in speed and he felt his chest constrict. He could feel it in his bones, but he didn't want to believe it.

His eyes glassed over as he starred at the remains of the house. "Liesel?" he asked quietly into the area. But, it was no use. No one replied except for the man behind him.

"Come on, Kid. Come sit down."

Rudy just shook his head and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Liesel!" Tears were streaming down his face as he turned, his eyes fixated on what was before him. He closed his eyes, stopping the flow of water, trying to forget the image that had just plagued his mind.

Hans. Rosa. Liesel.

All three laying peacefully in the street before him.

"No," he whispered, shaking his head. "No, not Liesel. Not you, Liesel."

He ran to her side, placing his forehead on hers and crying onto her lifeless face. His breathing was ragged, his movements slowed. He kneeled before her, his head now in his hands. The loud sobs exiting his barely teenaged body echoed through the street as he brought his fingers to her lips.

"Hey," he said, his voice all but breath on his lips. "I never got my kiss, _Saumensch_.

He leaned down and touched his forehead to hers once more before looking at the sky. He couldn't believe it. Liesel, his liesel, was dead. The book thief would thieve no more.

**A note on the sky**

**The night Liesel Meminger died, the sky was a dark gray. It appeared to Rudy like smoke off a cigarette hovering above Himmel Street.**

Rudy wiped the tears furiously from his cheeks. He didn't want to cry in front of Liesel. Instead, he placed his lips on her cheek and held back a sob. "I never got my kiss, Liesel Meminger," he said into her cold, pale skin. "And now I never will."

He carefully held her blond locks in his hand and tried to remember the deep, brown eyes that he had fallen for so many years before. He loved her - he had come to terms with that fact a long time ago - but now it was too late. He could do nothing besides mourn her death.

The man pulled him off the ground, taking Rudy's body in his strong arms. It was then that the boy with the lemon hair felt the pain. Tears continued to flow, now for both Liesel and the broken ribs in his chest. The man patted his head and carried him to a spot in the grass that was still green, not rubble gray.

"Do not worry, you're okay," the man told him.

But the man didn't understand why Rudy was crying. It wasn't the fact that he was alone, it was the fact that he was alive and his best friend, his everything, was gone. His father would return and he wouldn't be alone then, but in a way he would. It's said that you don't forget your first love, and Rudy was convinced he never would.

Liesel Meminger wasn't one that you forget easily. I should know, she had captivated my mind ever since I saw her on the train.


End file.
